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so all vehicles will be ev eventually and a lot of us here have one or want one, for our own reasons.
but why do you want one is it to save money every month over petrol /diesel or are you also wanting to save the environment, do we really know how getting an ev will save the environment and what that means …
Or
Are you set in your ways do you not want an ev do you not want to change is the new technology just a bit daunting
whats your thought
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For me I will be waiting as long as i can. I believe the technology will have massive leaps and who knows graphene Capacitors may become the norm if they can sort out the energy density problems. Mind you every 5 years they say 5 years 🙂 My ideal car, I would like a realistic range of 300 miles whilst towing. They will get there eventually.
Cars On Motability
2009 Citroen C4 Grand Picasso
2012 Vauxhall Antara
2013 Skoda Superb Estate
2016 Seat Alhambra
2020 Seat Tarraco
2021 Ford Kuga
2024 Nissan X-Trail left in Sep 25
For me it is the savings on fuel cost as my motivator and the helping environment is a bonus! Here in Northern Ireland I don’t think we pay for the public charging points so it is effectively free running costs, will save me over £100 per month on fuel
Personally I’m stuck in my ways and like the old school fuel cars (prefer dirty diesel) and will be sticking to typical fuel for as long as physically possible…..in response to your question, when the time comes for me to change to an EV then itl simply be the added bonus of saving costs spent at the pump ?
I don’t understand how they are going to make enough electric to power all these vehicles later down the line on top of the populations daily living, I think itl end up costing more…
Do you really save money with electric cars? They seem so expensive that in order to save money you would need to do an insane amount of miles over 3 years to see the benefits surely? Which kinda defeats the purpose as electric cars currently cannot go very far and seem more suited to short city journeys.
Do you really save money with electric cars? They seem so expensive that in order to save money you would need to do an insane amount of miles over 3 years to see the benefits surely? Which kinda defeats the purpose as electric cars currently cannot go very far and seem more suited to short city journeys.
My current car had a list price of 36k when i leased it, it then cost on average £100 per month on diesel to run it. My new EV has a list price of 34k and cost on average around £30 a month to run it. My old car has a full tank range of 500 miles, and the EV 280 miles. The longest journey i have taken in the past 3 years without a stop was 250 miles, so you see the figures do stack up. A lot of people get hung up on the range as i did in the beginning but when you study the facts an EV makes much more sense than an ICE vehicle unless you regularly commute from Leeds to Cornwall of course. I will also be switching energy suppliers so im charging with renewable energy so i will also be doing my bit for the environment.
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Hyundai Ioniq 6 Ultimate trim
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Loves 3D printing & Plastic model kits
----------------------------Would like to switch to electric power sooner rather than later. Not worried about cost saving (do very low mileage). Saving planet is nice, but I wonder how much EVs actually do this with their power coming in-part from fossil-fuel generation and the complex chemistry involved with batteries. I don’t know enough about the science to say yay or nay.
I like EVs because the whole system is better science and engineering than ICEs and better suited to popular transport vehicles. Far fewer moving parts, instant power delivery and more adaptable; 4×4 EVs, for example, need only one or two extra motors, not a great big, wasteful collection of shafts, joints, differentials and heaven knows what else.
Moreover, as one who enjoys driving, I am pleased to hear (not least from folks on this forum) that EVs are satisfying to drive. I will avoid saying “fun”-to-drive as this might get a number of EVs censored from scheme!
Do you really save money with electric cars? They seem so expensive that in order to save money you would need to do an insane amount of miles over 3 years to see the benefits surely? Which kinda defeats the purpose as electric cars currently cannot go very far and seem more suited to short city journeys.
As Stuart says, you need to do the research and the math.
My BMW Active Tourer 220d X Drive is great, 190bhp, 400Nm and averagaed just under 52mpg, list price was around £34k, I’ve worked out that has cost me around 11p a mile.
Most EV’s have similar performance (or better) up to the legal speed limit and are going to cost about 3p a mile at at fuel cost of 14p kWh (and you can pay much less
Petrol on the other hand at 40mpg is around 13p a mile.
Yes, higher milage will reap you much bigger savings, but even low milage, 10p a mile saving soon adds up, many on here quote 8000 miles a year, that adds up to a saving of £2400 over a 3 year lease, at my 20k a year it’s a massive £6000!
As to the original question, it’s a win win for me, I get to feel I am at least trying to save the planet, and at the same time saving myself a huge amount of money.
Previous Motability Cars
2006 - 2009 Skoda Superb VR6 2.0tdi
2009 - 2012 Citroen C5 2.0tdi VTR Nav
2012 - 2015 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci tekna
2015 - 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0tdi Titanium X
2018 - 2021 BMW 220d X drive 2 Series Active Luxury
2021 - 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric Premium SE
2023 - Hyundai Kona Electric Ultimate
Well call me cynical but if they suddenly develop a petrol engine with 200bhp and the equivalent to 150mpg I think the majority of people (me included) would go for it if only so they won’t have to constantly worry about charge points
I would do it to protect the environment.
https://www.euronews.com/2021/01/29/arctic-town-launches-bid-for-2032-summer-olympics
It’s just that giving money to companies that work with other companies that employhttps://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/05/cutting-cobalt-challenge-battery-industry-electric-cars-congo children to dig rare earth elements out of the ground in poor but conveniently far away countries in order to make batteries for electric cars (and yes, also for computers, though to a much lesser extent) kinda sticks in my craw.
I am a reluctant lemming,i will be one of the last over the cliff edge with an EV.
I am like that with most tech,phones for example i am only just onto the Samsung Galaxy S4.
When diesel cars were being pushed by all n sundry i refused to swallow the bumpf about them,i only just recently aquired my first diesel (euro 6).
Once the chuffs in the ivory towers who own the electric companys get the word that the majority of us all depend on their production of electricity,what will happen to the cost,i know……and then there is the Govt they will want some of the cake.
Imagine a world where all a Govt needs to do to stop us moving around in vehicles is flick the OFF switch.
I would rather us all stop eating cows etc
Imagine a world where all a Govt needs to do to stop us moving around in vehicles is flick the OFF switch. I would rather us all stop eating cows etc
I remember coming back from working in Stockholm in 2000 to a car with about 70 miles of fuel in the tank, a 100 mile journey home and there was no fuel anywhere in the country, drove down the empty M4 at 50 miles and hour, everything turned off and thankfully made it home on fumes.
As for giving up steak… NOOOOOOOO
Previous Motability Cars
2006 - 2009 Skoda Superb VR6 2.0tdi
2009 - 2012 Citroen C5 2.0tdi VTR Nav
2012 - 2015 Nissan Qashqai 1.5dci tekna
2015 - 2018 Ford Kuga 2.0tdi Titanium X
2018 - 2021 BMW 220d X drive 2 Series Active Luxury
2021 - 2023 Hyundai Kona Electric Premium SE
2023 - Hyundai Kona Electric UltimateThe main advantage for me would be neither of those things, it would be not having to go to a fuel station, a job I detest! An electric vehicle very much appeals to me, but we are fortunate and have a large garage in which we could charge it. However, I am a realist and EV’s are completely impractical for us (as a main car) for many years to come. Their current range is woeful unless you only do short journeys and the public infrastructure is many decades away from being adequate for us all to drive one. Stopping for a few minutes to top up petrol or diesel is faff enough, let alone a half an hour stop to recharge! With our current car (diesel) we did a fantastic 21 day touring holiday around Scotland. 3,500 miles in the most remote parts of the UK. Even with a conventional diesel with around 500 miles range, we had ‘range anxiety’ a couple of days! Just couldn’t contemplate that sort of holiday in an EV. If we still ran two cars I would consider an EV as one of them for the local trips. As an aside, why are most EV’s so pig ugly? Hybrids are mostly OK as they look like the normal cars they are based on, but most EV’s I have seen are not ‘lookers’! My wife and I both have quite different taste in cars, as far as looks go, but we are both in agreement on this.
Because I watched all the ‘Crank’ films and am a big fan. Could be a life saver.
Seriously, it is far more complex than just saving money on fuel. Electric cars tend to be smaller. Heating may be an issue, few are 4×4, they tend to have small boots. They seriously restrict what you can do and where you can go. I would not tour the highlands of Scotland for example. The KIA EV is wonderful, but its not 4×4 and has no sunroof, In the days when it was possible, two years ago we spent 7 weeks in two gites. One was old. Both were in scenic, quiet places. I would worry about further reducing the selection of gites. How many have a charging point, how many with elderly, or shared ownership are going to be happy with you charging there? The electric might be a cause for concern. I don’t want to have to take breaks to charge up. I don’t want to have to search for available or working charging points. Even having to time ferries or eurotunnel to allow for charging times there and back.
Of course none of the problems are insurmountable. I have thought it through, we would simply stay in a hotel on the way down, have an evening out and then travel after charging. Sounds simple but in fact it adds greatly to the cost of running an EV. You have to plan long drives much more and carefree, just driving is a thing of the past. On holidays, how do I take all the stuff I want in a small booted EV? Simple buy a tow bar and a box to go on the towbar, make sure its watertight and totally secure, add in another .8k-1k for that. But of course who is going to carry it and unload it? You have to park up more with possible valuables in a box on the back. That is all without any additional surcharges the government might add to pay for covid. during the next 3 yrs.
Whether it suits you is a choice. I like to go off the beaten track, muddy and slippery lanes. We take long holidays, I like to take lots of stuff. I have been on long holidays in small cars. Bought everything we needed there, even down to garden chairs and tables. Then dump them when we left. It adds greatly to the cost. What used to offset the cost? Mountains of wine. bye bye to that since the beloved botch up that is brexit. At least with a small booted EV you don’t have that option any more to further depress you about our new ‘global’ britain (if you can get to europe and back easily by car) without interminable delays. Think of the joy on a winters day as you queue endlessly sitting in your EV, freezing without a heater of the sunlit uplands then. You can’t drive to global Britain’s destinations. We are Europeans. Try hiring a disabled suitable car in these far flung places because everything has got harder with our neighbours.
If only life was so simple as fuel costs.
I toured rural Ireland once and range anxiety then was a nightmare. I can understand that re your Scottish trip. It is not yet practical for an EV to stray far off the beaten path. Regarding pig ugly, the trouble is there will be so many of them and the virtue signalling will be so strong as to corrupt your aesthetic appreciation over the years. Daft as it sounds in the future we may be waxing lyrical over one of the present ugly EVs and comparing it favourably to an E type. Shocking I know, but just let the influencers get to work. Don’t forget we used to dream of avocado bathroom suites and bubble lamps once upon a time…..
Once range hits 400 miles, I think there is no argument against. We aren’t quite there for affordable cars.
I calculated that if I did my usual number of miles over the 3 years I’d save about £2100 using an EV instead of a fossil so took that into account when choosing a car & at the time the EV would be cheaper by about £700 over the lease. However, I wanted to increase the number of miles I do considerably and with a fossil the extra fuel cost would soon tell on my finances wheras in an EV I’d not really notice.
Years ago I stopped going into London in cars because it was very polluting & I didn’t wish harm on anyone from my emissions. Now I’m looking forward to COVID being over & being able to drive in London again without a care.
My typical journey is “down the coast” which is 32 miles each way & if I fancy a wander further along the coast then I have the range in an EV for around 150 miles in summer. I can recharge on an ultra rapid if I want more range. I only do longer journeys a couple of times a year maximum & they would involve two charge stops each way which is fine as I can have a coffee & a bite to eat whilst doing that.
So, having looked at hybrids in 2014, and then hybrids & EVs in 2017, I thought the time was probably right to try an EV in 2020 & although I have range anxiety it only lasted a couple of days before I was confident I wasn’t going to run out of charge as I motored from Surrey to Weymouth/Northampton/Devon.
Not everything has been super smooth with the EV so far, Chargemaster were a disgrace so I put my own charge solution in at home instead, and I’ve had a couple of “funnies” when charging the EV where the charger limited it to 80% SoC near Stonehenge (I calculated I wanted about 84% and made it using a Type 2) and a couple of chargers have kept cutting out (just restart the charge as long as there’s no connection charge).
So, a variety of reasons for going EV. I don’t regret it either.
As for the “Drive”, I chose the Pug e2008 because Pugs usually drive quite well (I had a 306 Turbo Diesel for many years from new & it was fun), and the e2008 does indeed drive well, it feels planted due to the extra weight of the battery but the eco tyres give up enough grip in corners to make it entertaining. My alternative EVs at the time were the Ioniq 38kW which is a little low for me and the Zoe 50 with seats not quite in the league of the e2008, any of these would have been suitable.
My advice to anyone considering an EV is to do your research, work out your journeys before you take the plunge using ABRP or ZapMap, and watch over the months how the charging network is evolving fast.
So far I’ve charged in many different places, all in the COVID era so used disinfectant wipes & gloves, these include:
Type 2 7kW –
Waitrose Horsham
Asda Ferring
Asda Burgh Heath
Tesco Guildford
Rapid 50-350kW
BP Weymouth (ultra rapids)
BP Stonehenge (Solar retail park)
BP Emsworth (ultra rapids)
BP Toby Worthing
CYC Wray Lane (M25 J8)
Ionity Cobham Services (many free charges August/September)(ultra rapids)
BP Harvester Grays (Essex)
BP Holiday Inn Farnborough
BP Cranford Hounslow (ultra rapids)
Shell Twickenham
BP Malden Rushett (the ultra rapids)
Shell Burgh Heath
BP Reading at The World Turned Upside Down
Holiday Inn Luton South
BP Milton Keynes Coachway (loads of chargers here)
BP Ashington (ultra rapids just off the A24)
@gothitjulie Thanks for a really useful, informative post. I am pretty sure that my next car (due in 2years) will be an EV and your data and advice is really helpful and clearly, scientifically thought out. Better than so much of the waffle poured out from “specialist” publications/sites.
@gothitjulie I to thank you for an informative post. After also reading @Stuart and @Ellie posts, I will definitely be going with an EV when I’m able to order in March. I will probably go with the Kia Soul as I don’t need a large car anymore plus I can get every I want with the range of the Kia.
Not too sure if EVs will save the planet, if all the environmental costs are taken into account Mining, transportation, refining, Power generation, infrastructure to get the power to the end user etc etc not to mention depleting finite resources of rare elements.
I was watching something the other day discussing food waste. apparently food waste produces more than 4 X the CO of all transport.
Ah but they keep industry busy and help the transfer of money from the poor to the rich through state subsidies.
Not sure EVs are going to save the environment, as others have already said. Also, whilst those who can afford to get on the train early are currently enjoying no VED and low night tariffs I suspect, as EV becomes the majority and demand increases, this will quickly change!
However, despite that I do want EV to succeed and do want one for two main reasons:
1. EVs are normally auto and that will hopefully transmit to wider choice and more level prices.
2. They are definitely better for air quality regards emissions, especially in urban built up areas.
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